Living In A World Of Shadow
by naminelover07
Summary: Elena goes to High School and meets mysterious new boy. What will become of her when she has to rescue him from the clutches of an evil vampire?


Living in a World of Shadow

**Chapter 1-Mixed Emotions**

I'm always the girl who hides in the shadows, always blending in. I'm never the one to do anything important in life. I don't try out for school teams, or join any clubs. I'm just there..

I spend most of my time under the oak tree near Redwoodsen Library, either reading or sketching or just daydreaming. My mother says I am a gifted artist, but I need to draw something else for a change. You see I tend to draw a boy.. Always the same boy, dark and mysterious, like he's just waiting for someone. I never draw his face, but something tells me he's hiding it. Living in a world of shadow, just like me..

It was my first day of High School. Not a big excitement for me, I didn't see why everyone was so nervous. It was just another day of school. All the girls were wearing brand-name clothes, expensive jewelry, and unnaturally colored hair. There was Portia, she dyed her hair that blinding blond again. Of course Meredith and Kristy could be found glued to her sides. Another year of embarrassment from the Chiklets was in store. If only _they_ could get their lunch dumped on them for a change.. They were like jungle cats mocking their prey before coming in for the kill.

Here came Matt looking excited, though I wasn't sure why. Matt has been my best friend since kindergarten even though he's a people person and I'm obviously not. "Guess what!" He was bounding up and down in front of me waiting for a reply. "What?" I played along hoping he'll get out of my face. Matt's an awesome friend, but he can be a bit annoying sometimes. "I just got asked out by Melony Blake!" Wow. For Matt that was a big step. Going from geeky Tillie Loraine, to cute soccer player Melony Blake. He had been crushing on her all last year, so I knew he was excited. "Amazing!" No sooner than the words got out of my mouth he saw her and so he went running over to meet up with her. Well I figured I'd be making my grand appearance alone.

The bell rang and I was furiously stuffing my bag into my locker. "Great. Now I'm going to be late for my first class of High School." I turned the corner and saw him.. The guy I've been sketching for as long as I can remember. I could feel my eyes opening wide and I heard my gasp as I saw him turning to look at me. Of course Portia happened to walk by and shove me into the nearest trashcan. I recovered and looked around. He was gone and I was late to class. Just great. I didn't even get to see his face. I sighed and wormed my way out of the trashcan to find the nearest bathroom.

Finally cleaned off, I decided to skip first period and wait for the bell to second. The bells rang and I headed off to art. I merged into the crowd of laughing students and tried to become invisible. Of course Portia happened to see me and she was smirking. "Hey everyone! Don't you just _love_ Elena's new look?" Great. Everyone turned to look at me and I saw smirks and pure evil on everyone's face. I could feel the heat on my face as I turned away from the crowd. Portia was waving a picture of me stuffed in the trashcan from this morning. I put my head down and hurried down the next hallway I could find trying to get away from the embarrassment.. "Oh!" I ran into someone and I dropped all my books. We both leaned down to get them and I heard him say, "Here let me help you." I froze. I recognized that voice from my dreams. Slowly I looked up and his face was inches from mine. We stared at each other for a brief moment until he quickly straightened up. Dazed I slowly stood up and asked, "Who are you?" He looked at me with a face of internal conflict until he finally breathed, "Alec."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. That brief encounter with Alec turned my world upside down. Today I sketched more than I ever had before. My sketchbook is filled with his pictures. I set it down for a moment, and then quickly snatched it up again. I couldn't bear to see it out of my hands. I unconsciously started flipping through my sketches over and over.. Soon I realized I could see a pattern. In wonder I slowly flipped through them again. It couldn't be true! My sketches were a story. They started with my dreams and went all the way until my last encounter with him today. There were a few sketches afterward, but I couldn't figure out why they were there. I began to look at the dates. They were all sketched exactly a week before that scene happened. I sketched the last few today, so wouldn't I see him again in a week? With a grin I finally set down my sketchbook and fell onto my bed, exhausted, into a dreamful sleep.

**Chapter 2- Discover**

It was the day. Today I would see Alec again. If my sketches were true I would see him at 9:58, right before 4th period. It looked like I would meet him in front of 's classroom. It was 9:57 and I was craning my neck to see the whole hallway, searching for him. Matt turned the corner and stumbled into me. "Oh! Hey Elena! Are you okay? You look a little tense." He honestly looked concerned. I could hardly pay any attention to him with only 30 seconds before my sketch came true. "I'm sorry Matt, but I can't talk right now." Matt wasn't in my sketch, and I was afraid it might not work if he was there. "You should be going to class. The bell's about to ring." I gave him a little shove trying to get my point across. Only 15 more seconds were left. He looked startled but left without a complaint. Why was time moving so slow? 5…4…3…2… There he was. Standing right where he was in my sketch. I breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to him. I smiled and looked up to him. He was about a half of a head taller than me, so he had to look down to me. Even with a shadow on his face his piercing blue eyes gazed brighter than any star right at me.

"Well, hello. How did you find me here?" I blinked; surprised Alec had actually spoken directly to me. "Um… I… I…" I stammered not being able to form coherent words.. He laughed to himself and held out a hand as if he was offering to walk me to class. I took it and dazedly followed him. The late bell rang, but I didn't care. We walked along and before I knew it we were in the school garden. We sat down on a stone bench and he turned to look at me. "Well? How did you know I was going to be there?" I decided I would answer his question truthfully since there wasn't a good reason not to. "I sketch, but the only thing I sketch is a boy… you." He continued staring at me as if me sketching only him didn't bother him at all. "I noticed that they all dated exactly a week before it happened in reality. So I noticed the clock in my last sketch said 9:58 and it was exactly a week ago that I drew that, so I came." I looked up at him, noticing I had been staring at my hands while I spoke, and his eyes were indifferent. "Meet me here right after school." With that he stood up and gracefully walked away. I sat there for a few moments and then slowly got up and headed to class.

4th period had already gone by, and it looked like I was just in time for 5th. I walked to class in a daze and the next 4 periods were torture. We had an incredibly long lecture in World History, and in English we had to write a 2 page long essay on our summer vacation. I love art, but today it seemed as if every minute was an eternity. I sat on the edge of my seat all during Science, and finally the bell rang. I darted out of my seat leaving yelling about giving me a detention. I ran to the garden, with teachers yelling at me the whole way, anxious to see Alec again. I arrived flushed and out of breath. "I love that color on you" He chuckled and motioned for me to sit with him. I sat and noticed a few people stared at us, but I ignored them the instant I saw his eyes. They were that same piercing blue as always, but today they had another depth to them. Something I couldn't quite place was there, hidden away, yet threatening to rise to the surface. Something changed and his eyes held sadness. "Is something wrong?" he asked with sincere concern in his voice. It sounded as if he was concerned not only for me, but for himself. "I'm fine, but are you?" He looked surprised, but shook it off and smiled. I looked around and noticed that the moment people saw they scurried away like we were predators ready to kill. No one ever ran away from me, they just ignored me. I looked down, frustrated. "What's the matter?" His voice brought me back from my trance. "Why are they running away like that? They look scared." That sadness crept back into his eyes when I said that. Sadly he replied, "Let's just say I'm not normal…" We dismissed the matter at that.

"So why did you want to meet me here?" I quickly said, trying to get away from the awkward silence. Alec smiled and rose to his feet. "Do you want to take a walk?" I smiled and stood up to stand with him. He took my hand and we walked around the now quiet garden. There was a small, yet tricky, hedge maze near the center and we walked to it. We began the maze and soon we were in the center. We had never made a mistake. "How did you do that?" I asked in awe. "Like I said. I'm not normal." I looked up at him and he had a secure mask over his emotions. He glanced at me and I saw a flicker of curiosity........... We walked around the small fountain in the center when he suddenly stopped. He turned to me and said, "What do you know about me?" I looked at him questionably. He sighed and continued, "I mean, what have you learned about me through your sketches and what you've heard?" I thought for a moment and carefully replied, "No offense, but I haven't heard anything about you in school and my sketches haven't helped any." He laughed under his breath and smiled at me. "Are you sure?" I thought hard about all my sketches and suddenly realized they were all in darkness. I slowly looked up at him, slightly confused, to answer his question with a question, but he spoke first. "I know this must be strange, but please trust me." I nodded and spoke, "All of my sketches show you in darkness." All he did was stare at me for a moment, nod, and lead me out of the maze.

**Chapter 3- The Scary Truth**

Alec turned and looked at me for one long last moment, then turned and left. All I could do was stand and stare. Eventually, I got control of my legs again and I forced myself forward. I got into my small Impala and turned on the radio. Surprisingly there was a CD in so I pressed play. I sat back and listened to the message. "Elena. If you dare take the path with me you may, no _will_, get into much danger. If you choose not to take the path with me take the CD out now and discard it. You must realize the second path means I may only occasionally glance at you but no more. If you choose the first path listen to the second track now, but beware. There is no turning back." I sat for a moment and listened to the silence ring in my ears. Danger? What did he mean? Why did he have that hint of sadness in his voice? What should I choose? All these questions and more swam around my head making me dizzy. I looked around and everything swirled before me. "_Vampire…_" The last thing I heard was the hiss of the creature in front of me as my head hit the seat.

I woke up in my car and tried to sit up. I fell back down dizzily and felt a stab of pain in my wrist. I looked down and saw a perfect curve that looked like the mark of teeth running across my wrist... I looked in the mirror and saw my face was deathly pale. I quickly looked at the clock to see how long I had been out. It had been three hours since Alec had left me. Alec! The CD had said something about him didn't it? I pressed play to see what it had said, but the CD was missing. All my memories swam around my head and I tried to focus on what happened right before I went unconscious. "_Vampire…_" I cringed when I heard the strange voice again. It was the voice of the creature that had been in front of me. Vampire? That would explain the mark on my wrist and my pale appearance, but weren't they just myths? I quickly double-checked the locks and made sure no one was in the car and started to drive home. I had to sit down for a while and see if I could make any sense out of all of this.

I arrived at my one-story, ancient, and too small to hold more than three people house. I used to live here with my mom, but she had died when I was just fifteen. Now I lived here alone with the neighbors checking on me every once and a while. The only people who truly felt like family to me were elderly Mr. and Mrs. Jamison. Most people tend to avoid this street saying it's haunted, or it holds bad spirits, but eventually you can ignore the rumors. I don't mind my quaint little neighborhood. With only four houses down your road you get a bit more privacy than a busy subdivision and you don't have to worry about robbers. I walked up the cobblestone path and for the key from the pot where I had _attempted_ to grow some flowers. I opened the door and I sighed, relieved I had finally gotten home safely. Or so I had thought.

I walked into the living room and threw my bag onto the couch. I fell into the nearest chair, exhausted even though I had been unconscious only minutes ago. I started to drift off to sleep when I heard a thundering crash. I jerked up and grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a small vase, to protect myself. I edged toward my bedroom where the sound had come from. I looked inside and saw that nothing seemed to be in array, besides my gaping and shattered window. I gasped when I saw a small orange striped kitten sitting perfectly on my bed. Two things were strange about this; how could a kitten destroy my window, and why were its eyes red? The kitten tilted its head to the side and let out a questioning meow. Then it turned its head upright, leaned forward, and hissed. All of its hair was standing straight up on its back and suddenly it lunged. In the middle of the terrifying lunge I noticed it was getting bigger. How could this be happening? The seemingly harmless kitten became a tiger and threw me to the ground. It had me pinned and was staring evilly into my eyes. It looked hungry. "_Vampire…_" That horrible voice hissed into my head again. It lifted its muzzle to tear into my throat, but suddenly there was a deafening wolf howl.

**Chapter 4- True Form**

The tiger looked up and a midnight black wolf barreled through the open window. It landed on the tiger and knocked it off of me. I scrambled up and stood far against the wall. The fight was in the middle and the door was on the opposite side of the room, so there was no escaping now. I was more terrified than I had ever been before. The tiger soon began to try a new technique. Instead of swatting with its huge paws at the wolf, it shape shifted into a golden hawk. The hawk circled and dove at the wolf with its talons extended. To my surprise the wolf turned into a black crow at the last second. The two changed form over and over until finally the black leopard had the striped fox under its paws. It growled a victory and ripped off a talisman the fox had been wearing deep in its fur. The fox whimpered and disappeared in a cloud of dust. The leopard turned and stared directly at me with piercing blue eyes.

The same exact piercing blue eyes as Alec. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't possible was it? He phased in front of me and I saw Alec standing there with a torn gaze on his face. He looked unscathed, but looking closer I could see faint scars that had begun to heal. I dizzily grabbed the bedpost for support. What was going on? "What? What's going on? What… What are you?" I asked him in confusion, hoping for a _clear_ answer this time. He stood brave, but his eyes betrayed him. He was hurt, and I couldn't help him. He turned and walked to the shattered window. He leaned on the broken glass heavily, but it looked as if it didn't hurt him. I walked over in wonder and picked up one of his hands. He didn't seem to care, so he let his hand go limp in mine. I looked at the faint scars running along his wrist and looked up at him curiously. "Please tell me." I whispered to him desperately. He looked at me and his eyes were a dark grey-blue. They seemed to shadow his emotions and look into the deepest part of him. Everything in his face held grief and loss. We stared at each other for a moment until he turned his head a way and yanked his hand away from me.

"I can't do this any longer!" Alec yelled in frustration and threw his fist into the wall. His eyes went from soft grief to blazing fury in an instant. He slowly removed his hand, revealing a large gap showing the outside. "This. This is what I am." He had to speak in riddles didn't he? "I don't understand." I asked quietly, frustrated at his strange mood swings. He all of a sudden flashed a grin at me and motioned for me to come to him. "Want to see?" Shaking, I stepped forward and made my way toward him. He held out his hand and I took it carefully. He chuckled and I weakly smiled at him, not sure what was going on. He brought me out the gap in the wall and into the surrounding forest. He led me through the trees until we got to a dark cover of oaks. He let go and turned to look at me.

Alec stared directly into my eyes as he said, "This is what I am." He suddenly shape shifted into a crow and flew into a circle, but then he suddenly leaped out of the sky as a black leopard. He shape shifted for several minutes as I watched the many graceful, yet deadly, animals in awe. He had become a small black ferret when a golden hawk came diving out of the sky. It had on a small talisman. Alec looked up at the last moment and the hawk swooped him up. With a triumph cry he flew out of the trees and left me alone. I fell to my knees and started to sob. Why did these things keep happening to me? I couldn't do anything; I was only a mere human. I shot up inspired. He was some sort of shape shifter like Alec right? He also disappeared when Alec ripped his talisman off of him. It seemed as if his talisman kept him safe from something, but what?

**Chapter 5- Complications**

I slowly walked home, not wanting to see the horrible destruction. When I reached the door I noticed a small note nailed to the frame. "_Elena, if you want to see Alec again you must come to the Old Galley Café at midnight. Come alone and don't draw any attention to yourself_." I snatched up the note and went inside to prepare for tonight..

I arrived at the café at exactly midnight. I looked around and saw a bronze-haired man sitting alone at a table near the back. He smiled and motioned for me. I shivered and slowly walked toward him. "Please, take a seat. I wouldn't want you to be… uncomfortable." He grinned even wider when I sat down across from him. I had my emotions secure under my "mask", but I still shivered slightly when he leaned toward me. "So you came for Alec correct?" He had a hint of amusement in his voice, but I ignored it and solemnly nodded. He chuckled and pulled a small black and fury ball out of his pocket. I gasped as the figure opened up and Alec was a small gerbil sitting in the man's hand. He had on a miniature muzzle and had his paws chained together. His eyes told me that he was scared for me and that he was very weak. The man closed his fingers around Alec and opened them again. He was gone. "What did you do with him?" I yelled at him furiously. "Remember don't draw any attention to yourself or Alec will permanently become my little pet." He laughed evilly and rose quietly... "I think we need some more privacy." With that he turned and walked out.......... I stared at the door for a few moments before running outside..

I froze when I saw the horrible scene before me.. The man had become the tiger again and Alec was in his jaws. The tiger took one bound and skidded next to me. He batted me with his paw and I flew against his back. Slung over him he carried me deep into the woods to a small cover of trees. The same one Alec had been kidnapped in. He turned back into a human man and I found myself on the ground struggling to get up. He stepped on my back roughly to keep me down. "Come on now. We don't want anyone to get hurt right?" He laughed and kneeled down next to me. He flashed me a smile and I noticed that his teeth were unusually sharp. He had thrown Alec down to the ground when we arrived and I could see the small gerbil's eyes had opened wide. He tried to fight the ropes binding him, but it was no use.

"Now it's time for me to get some dinner..........." I determinedly looked at him and smiled. "Go ahead. What do I have to live for anyway? At least my story is going to be better than yours.." This automatically made him mad. He sneered and said, "What makes you think that anyone is going to know your story?" I looked over and he followed my gaze. A small blond ferret was sitting on a branch in the nearest tree.. It looked directly at me and nodded. Then right before our eyes it changed into a small bird and flew away. The man's eyes looked as if they had burst into flames. He yelled, "No! This can't happen! It won't help you anyway." Suddenly he turned to me and grinned evilly. He took my wrist and bit into it. I felt myself go lightheaded and then the cold ground underneath me...

**Chapter 6- Rescuing Alec**

I recovered from my blackout and looked around. It was dark, but strangely I could see perfectly. I slowly sat up, but then I remembered what happened. I bolted upright and frantically searched my mind for what was going on. There had been a strange blond ferret that saw everything and then… the man _bit_ me. He wasn't a man at all. He was a vampire. I shivered and stood up. I began to find my way out of the forest and amazingly I had no problem. I began to search for Alec and soon I noticed that I was using my mind. The night went on and I discovered many more new things I could do now that I couldn't have done before. I kept searching until I realized the sun was beginning to creep over the horizon. When the first few rays peeked over I hissed in pain. I ran into the shadows of the nearest tree and hid.. Why did the sun hurt? How did I hiss like that?

All of a sudden it hit me. Vampire. I wasn't a mere and helpless human anymore. I was a strong vampire who could extraordinary things. I looked at myself closer and noticed that my skin was slightly paler and I didn't have a single scratch on me. I decided that since I was a vampire I couldn't go out in the sun. That would explain why I felt pain in the sun. I decided to get better cover, so I ran to a better cover of trees.... I thought about it for a second and a strange thought occurred to me. How could that vampire go out in the sun? It must have been that talisman he wore. I thought a little longer and discovered that Alec didn't wear a talisman of any kind. He couldn't go in the sun without a talisman could he? Maybe he wasn't a vampire, but he had to be if he could shape shift.

I decided that it didn't matter because he needed help. Now that I was a vampire I really could help him. I sat down and closed my eyes. I began to concentrate very hard and used my mind to search the area around me. I found that the vampire had Alec captive in an old train cargo building about a mile away. I wanted to help him as soon as I could, but the sun was getting fairly high now and I couldn't risk going out in it. I stayed put and concentrated for the rest of the day. I soon found out that I could get a faint picture of what was going on if I tuned everything else out. It seemed as if Alec could see me, because he kept looking directly at me. When it was finally dark he looked at me and nodded slowly. I opened my eyes and got up. Alec's fate was in my hands now.

I ran to the warehouse and slipped inside. My eyes automatically readjusted to the dim light. I could faintly hear voices in the next room. I crept down the hall and entered into the large cargo hold..... I crouched behind a few boxes and looked over at the vampire. He was alone, so I knew this couldn't be too hard. "Come on in Elena." I didn't even flinch when he addressed me clearly. I had expected he would know I was here. I stood up and walked right over to him. We were less than a foot apart now and I said in disgust, "Where is he? What did you do to Alec?" He chuckled and I noticed that I had heard that laugh so many times I was almost used to it. "I see you found new confidence in this form did you not?" He laughed yet again and turned to sit down.

"Hold it. Give me Alec now. This was part of our deal remember?" He smiled and thought for a moment before he spoke. "Dear Elena. I remember telling you that if you wanted to see him again come with me. Well you saw him and now the deal is done." I glared at him and broke the eerie silence after a short minute. "What did you do to him?" I started to see where this was headed and I dreaded his answer. "I disposed of him. I didn't need him anymore so I got rid of him." I quickly scanned the building with my mind and found Alec was not there. "I know he's not dead, but he's not here." My tone was determined and he could tell. When I looked past his amused look I could see a glimmer of fear in the depths of his eyes. I got up and left. Alec wasn't with the vampire, but he was near and I would find him soon. I could feel it. With my newfound powers I would soon safely find Alec and I would show the vampire how he determined his own horrible fate when he changed me.

I died the quiet and shy Elena that hid in the shadows, but was reborn the fierce and strong Elena who lurked in the shadows, just waiting for revenge.


End file.
